Enterprises that want greater flexibility will start to deploy a mix of IaaS platforms. But interoperability issues must be addressed first.

NEW YORK -- Hybrid cloud might be all the rage today, but the multi-cloud model -- where IT deploys a mix of cloud services from different providers -- is next in line.

"You can bet that, in the next few years, [cloud providers] are going to work together to create this bridge, not only between private and public [clouds], but also between public [clouds]," said Simone Brunozzi, vice president and CTO of hybrid cloud services at VMware, speaking here at the Cloud Computing Expo this week.

There are several trends nudging the industry toward the multi-cloud model, according to Brunozzi. First, multi-cloud, in many ways, is the natural next step for many organizations after hybrid cloud, a technology that analyst firms such as IDC expect to grow significantly over the next few years.

Secondly, cloud users see the multi-cloud model as a way to squash one of their biggest cloud computing fears: being locked-in to a single cloud provider.

"Customers are ready with their dollars, voting against strong lock-ins in the cloud," Brunozzi said.

Thirdly, a multi-cloud strategy gives organizations the flexibility to run applications on different infrastructure as a service (IaaS) platforms, based on those applications' unique needs. For example, a customer could choose to deploy Hadoop clusters on Amazon Web Services (AWS) or Google -- two IaaS platforms that Brunozzi said are especially well-suited for Hadoop workloads -- while running other applications, such as an Exchange Server or a payroll service, on VMware's public cloud.

In everything you do, you have to diversify.
Melissa PersonCEO of Inkwhy, Inc.

In addition, multi-cloud models offer greater redundancy than single IaaS deployments, which mitigates the risk of downtime, said Melissa Person, CEO of Inkwhy, Inc., a technology consultancy and services provider based in Ewing, New Jersey.

"When you have your own data centers you have multiple providers -- you use AT&T, you use Verizon, you use Level 3. It's the same concept," Person said. "What if one goes down? Where's your backup and business continuity? It's not there. In everything you do, you have to diversify."

While it may take several years for enterprises to embrace a multi-cloud approach, it's definitely the "endgame" for many organizations, said Jim Murphy, senior consultant at Garnerin Group, Inc., a technology consultancy based in New York.

"More and more [workloads] have to move to the public cloud and, especially for larger enterprises, they can't be completely dependent on, for example, AWS' business line," Murphy said.

Brace for hybrid, multi-cloud challenges

Despite its benefits, the multi-cloud model also brings a unique set of cloud integration and management challenges. Moreover, it will require collaboration between the leading cloud providers -- no matter how deep the rivalry.

"It would be very myopic for a company to say, 'Run everything on us, because we are the best.' The problem is, you cannot be the best for everything," Brunozzi said. "[Providers] have to admit that there will be a need for multiple vendors to be available."

Some cloud providers are already heading down this path. VMware recently struck a deal with Google to allow VMware vCloud Air users to access certain Google Cloud Platform features.

"Interoperability between clouds is something that is happening already," Brunozzi said. "But it takes time."

In the meantime, there are still kinks in the hybrid cloud model that should be addressed before the industry shifts full-force toward multi-cloud. For example, there is still a level of complexity involved in migrating workloads between public and private environments, Brunozzi said. Tasks such as converting virtual machine images and importing and exporting security protocols aren't always as seamless as they should be.

"That is where much of the value will be in the next few years," he said.

Kristin Knapp is site editor for SearchCloudComputing. Contact her at kknapp@techtarget.com or follow @kknapp86 on Twitter.

Join the conversation

1 comment

Register

I agree to TechTarget’s Terms of Use, Privacy Policy, and the transfer of my information to the United States for processing to provide me with relevant information as described in our Privacy Policy.

Please check the box if you want to proceed.

I agree to my information being processed by TechTarget and its Partners to contact me via phone, email, or other means regarding information relevant to my professional interests. I may unsubscribe at any time.

Your password has been sent to:

Please create a username to comment.

This is exactly why you're seeing more companies looking into Containers, because they are a much better interoperability building block than VMs. Can stay focused on the application-layers, and they can run on any Cloud provider (today for Linux, future for Windows also).